In 1959, the late Roy Kirkness tackled the Comrades Marathon to try win a bet, with minimal training. The question is, are today’s runners as tough as the runners in those early days? – By Karien Jonckheere
Tag: comrades
‹ Back 
Kalmer’s Corner: The Big C
If it were not for the two-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, this year’s Comrades Marathon would have been my Green Number 10 th … as
a supporter! – By René Kalmer
Dylan Rogers: A Comrades Convo with my Dad
Dylan Rogers is a sports journalist with Johannesburg radio station HOT 102.7FM and part of the Big Joburg Drive Show, which you can catch 3pm to 6pm Monday to Friday on either 102.7FM or streaming on hot1027.co.za. He’ll be running his first Comrades Marathon in August, after accepting a dare from a friend, who has pledged to donate R500 to charity for every kilometre of Comrades that Dylan is able to complete. This is a special podcast where Dylan chats to his Dad ahead of his first Comrades Marathon.
Your 2022 Comrades Pacesetters
On 28 August, the Comrades Marathon will once again take to the roads of KZN, and the official Comrades Marathon Pacesetters will once again be there to help runners hit their target times. – By Sean Falconer
Road to Comrades with Dylan Rogers
Dylan Rogers is a sports journalist with Johannesburg radio station HOT 102.7FM and part of the Big Joburg Drive Show, which you can catch 3pm to 6pm Monday to Friday on either 102.7FM or streaming on hot1027.co.za. He’ll be running his first Comrades Marathon in August, after accepting a dare from a friend, who has pledged to donate R500 to charity for every kilometre of Comrades that Dylan is able to complete. This is Dylan’s blog of his journey to the Comrades.
A pretty good week or so, with a couple of milestones. Firstly, it doesn’t matter how old you are, getting new shoes is always a little exciting and brings out the child in every one of us. I’m no different, even at the age of 47! Fortunately, some of my running mates told me that I shouldn’t go anywhere but Randburg Runner in Linden, and they were right. Nick at the store clearly ‘knows his onions,’ and I walked away with this pair of Brooks that I hope will get me to the finish line in Durban. More importantly, Nick gave me the sense of comfort that they will.
The next thing, of course, was putting them to the test. I happened to have an eight-kilometre time trial on my programme the following morning, and since I hadn’t done one in a while, I was curious to see what I could produce – with the new shoes, of course, as well. Anyway, I was pretty chuffed with breaking 25 minutes (24:40) for the 5k and 40 minutes (39:18) for the 8k for the first time, so the speed is looking good – it’s just the strength and endurance that needs constant attention between now and the start line.
Speaking of that, I followed that time trial up with a session at iMude Sport and Wellness in Parkmore, where Riaan has been panel-beating me over the past few months and getting my over-rotated pelvis into line, so the legs were a little stiff the day after. I shook that out with an easy run the day after and then a bit of mileage over the weekend – 19km (two hours) on Saturday and 30km (3:20) on Sunday.
There’s no doubt that this Comrades training thing is a big commitment, and not just from the runner’s perspective. My wife has had to shoulder the bulk of the responsibility with the kids whilst I’ve been out on the weekends, clocking up the hours and miles, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. Still, I’ve tried to fit in the weekend runs around my family, so there I was, running to the Country Club to meet them on the Saturday, and then running to my in-laws’ place at Blair Atholl, just past Lanseria Airport, on the Sunday – the latter requiring my wife dropping me at the bottom of Peter Place in Bryanston and seeing me nearly three-and-a-half hours later, once I’d navigated William Nicol, Fourways, Malibongwe etc!
The Epsom Salts bath after that was a bit of a treat. Was also good to do a couple of ‘warm’ runs, as this winter training thing largely sees me out early, in the Jo’burg cold, which is not how I’m going to be spending my 28 August. I suspect it’ll be a bit warmer than that! Anyway, more mileage again this week, before the big RAC Long Run on 24 July. Eek!
Road to Comrades with Dylan Rogers
Dylan Rogers is a sports journalist with Johannesburg radio station HOT 102.7FM and part of the Big Joburg Drive Show, which you can catch 3pm to 6pm Monday to Friday on either 102.7FM or streaming on hot1027.co.za. He’ll be running his first Comrades Marathon in August, after accepting a dare from a friend, who has pledged to donate R500 to charity for every kilometre of Comrades that Dylan is able to complete. This is Dylan’s blog of his journey to the Comrades
So, marathon number two under the belt – Run Zone’s Autumn Chase Marathon in Jo’burg – and a bit of a relief that it was a more enjoyable experience than number one. Enjoyable, definitely, because I was stronger and went a bit harder (and survived!), but make no mistake, marathons are hard!
This time I just hit the wall at a later stage, which, I guess, is encouraging. At Midvaal a month ago, I started taking serious gas at 28km, but this time round I lasted until about 38km, after which it was a bit of a struggle, but that was also because I was trying to break 4:30 for the first time, having done 4:42 at Midvaal.
Needless to say, I had to produce a bit of a burst of ‘speed’ towards the finish line to come in at 4:29:33, but the satisfaction thereafter, with the realisation that I’d achieved my race goal, was pretty special. I just needed to hang onto a nearby piece of boarding, to avoid passing out!
Having grabbed the first energy drink I could find, and somehow dipped my head to have the obligatory medal put round my neck, I looked around for any familiar faces. Even though I was a bit woozy, I found the ‘Charging Fanta Bottle’ – running ‘partner’ Byron Hardy – lazing on the grass, and informed him that I didn’t mind him heading off early in the race, because this was something I needed to do myself, and I didn’t want to hold him back.
Points to Ponder
So, what about some of my other race reflections? Well, I definitely went out slightly harder, trying to aim for a running pace of around 6min/km, but then making sure I walked just about all the water stations and the odd hill, which I obviously did more of in the second half of the race. I was pretty happy to go through halfway in 2:10:36, as I thought that probably left me enough time to get in under 4:30, but I’m still working towards a 2:05 half marathon, as per my Lindsey Parry Comrades Bronze Medal Programme. I’ll get there.
I think the other major take-away was how I’m definitely getting more comfortable running on sore, tired legs. That really is something you’ve got to get your head round, as it’s counter-intuitive. Your body – and your mind – can’t understand why you’re putting yourself through this, but I guess that’s part of the challenge, and this Comrades journey is all about the challenge for me.
Anyway, the legs seem to have recovered well, and after a nice three days’ rest, I was back out on Thursday morning with an easy hour on the road, to be followed by 90 minutes on Saturday and two hours on Sunday. Onward and upward we go, with just less than eight weeks to Comrades!
Launch of 2022 Comrades Marathon
It’s the much-awaited Comrades comeback!
After nearly two years of adhering to the National State of Disaster, the subsequent suspension of sporting events and the cancellation of both the 2020 and 2021 Centenary Comrades Marathons, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) is thrilled to launch its #Comrades2022 campaign and announce its plans for this year’s race.
CMA Chairperson, Mqondisi Ngcobo unveiled the very appropriate campaign slogan, “The Return – Sishay’ Ibuya”, signaling the long-awaited return to road-running and a celebration of the comeback of The Ultimate Human Race.
The launch, hosted in Johannesburg today (Thursday, 17 February 2022) was attended by the nation’s top media, road-running dignitaries, CMA sponsors, stakeholders, former winners, elite athletes, and sports personalities.
Ngcobo has cautioned however that, “Runners will still need to exercise a degree of care and attentiveness when out running – be it exercising, training, spectating or participating in events. However, amid all the precautions and safety measures, we are just extremely pleased to be able to host the 2022 Comrades Marathon in August and invite the nation and the world to celebrate this milestone with us.”
He added, “The slogan is such a natural fit for this year’s upcoming event. The return of the Comrades Marathon, let alone all other road-running events, is something that runners have been eagerly awaiting. It is therefore with a great sense of pride and pleasure that we unveil this campaign, issue details around our upcoming 95th Comrades Marathon and create the conditions for our athletes to run the race that they love so much.”
The 95th Comrades Marathon will be a Down Run on Sunday, 28 August 2022. The race starts at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall at 05h30 and ends 12 hours later at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, covering a 90,2km distance. This will be the 47th Down Run in Comrades history.
Considering the current National legislation limitation on mass participation events, the entry limit has been capped at 15,000 entries. Due to Coronavirus and other health and safety implications, all entrants will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and produce their vaccine certificate to complete their entry status by 12 July.
The opening date for entries is Wednesday, 23 March 2022, when the first entry window period commences and runs for 1 week until 31 March 2022. During this window period, only those entrants who had successfully entered the 2020 Comrades Marathon will be able to enter, be they South Africa, the Rest of Africa, or International.
The entry fee for South African athletes will be discounted from R1200 to R1000 in the first entry window period, as per the CMA commitment when the 2020 race was cancelled. The rest of Africa and International entrants in the 2020 Comrades Marathon had their entries deferred to either the 2022 or 2023 race; and will therefore not pay an entry fee.
During the second entry window period, from 20 April to 16 May 2022, all other athletes will be allowed to enter.
Entry fees for these entrants in the 2022 Comrades Marathon are as follows:
- South Africa: R1200.00
- Rest of Africa: R2000.00
- International: R4500.00
Entry is free to all runners who have completed the Comrades Marathon 25 times or more.
This second entry window period will not apply should the entry cap have been reached during the first entry window period.
- ASA rules only allow for online entries and will be done via the Comrades Marathon website: www.comrades.com;
A special larger than normal commemorative medal denoting the 95th edition of the Comrades Marathon will be struck for this year’s race. A new trophy will also be introduced to the 20–39 years Women’s 2nd place team prize.
CMA Race Director, Rowyn James says, “We have exciting plans in place for this year’s Down Run which will finish at Durban’s acclaimed Moses Mabhida Stadium for the second time. Qualifying for the 2022 Comrades Marathon is applicable as of 1 September 2021 till 12 July 2022. The qualifying criteria for this year’s Comrades Marathon remains unchanged requiring completion of a standard 42.2km marathon in under 4 hours and 50 minutes, or a 56km ultra-marathon in under 6 hours and 45 minutes.”
The Substitution Process will run over the month of June. More details will be revealed closer to the time.
Since its inception, the Comrades Amabeadibeadi charity drive has raised more than R60-million for the CMA’s six official charities. The benefitting charities for 2022 are Childhood Cancer Foundation SA (CHOC), Community Chests of Pietermaritzburg & Durban, Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust, Hospice KZN, Rise Against Hunger, and Wildlands Conservation Trust.
The Race4Charity fundraising platform requires that runners raise a minimum of R6000 for the Amabeadibeadi charity of their choice, in order to qualify for the charity seeding batch on the start line. 500 entries have been reserved for Race4Charity runners. For more details on the Race4Charity initiative, click through to www.comrades.com/charities/
Ngcobo has called on all runners to support the charitable fundraising initiatives of the CMA, saying, “We urge all Comrades entrants to select the Official Charity closest to their heart and commit to running for a cause greater than themselves. As the CMA, we have placed great focus on benefitting the communities in which we operate and continuously adding value to the sport of athletics.”
The Long Road Back for Debbie Fass
Shortly after fulfilling her dream to earn her Comrades Green Number, Debbie Fass was given the devastating news that she needed a hip replacement, and she thought her running days were over. However, through determination and dedication, she has returned to the road. – By Roxanne Martin
Read the Magazine
Tuck into good reads about Glenrose Xaba’s great SPAR results, Stef & Sabrina’s Oyster Catcher father-daughter adventure, the comeback story about Comrades Green Debbie Fass after her hip replacement, a welcome back for sprinter Carina Horn, Mindlo Mdhluli’s journey from learning to swim to ultra triathlete, and Sue Ullyett describes the hard times she went through in coming back from being seriously ill with COVID, PLUS all you need to know about the record-breaking adidas adizero shoe range.
Happy Birthday Comrades!
On 24 May, the Comrades Marathon Association celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the first Comrades Marathon on 24 May 1921, with a
commemorative Centenary Run and gala event at Comrades House in Pietermaritzburg. With a veritable who’s who of Comrades history in
attendance, it was a fitting way to celebrate a century of the Ultimate Human Race. – By Sean Falconer